Date A Live Encore - Volume 9 - Chapter 2

Nia House

 “Let’s go—! Let’s go on a date—!” 

 At the same time that lively and energetic voice rang out, the living room door suddenly flew open. 

 A brief look revealed a young woman with short dark hair and glasses smiling energetically with her arms outstretched. She was one of the Spirits who lived in Tengu City—Honjou Nia. She favored pants for easy mobility and a thick dark-colored coat, and her behavior made her seem like a child. 

 Itsuka Shido, who was seated on the sofa, reading a magazine, looked up at her for a few seconds before returning his attention to what he was reading. 

 “Hey! At least give me a response, Boy!” 

 Nia stomped the floor in protest, and slipped her head between Shido and the magazine that he was reading. Shido sighed quietly as he pushed Nia’s head back and closed the magazine. 

 “I want to go on a date…” 

 “Really, you already said that when you came in.” 

 “It’s just the two of us in here, isn’t that rather interesting…?” 

 “No, I think that’s just your imagination…” 

 “Oh, so you think that I’m just being anxious? It’s just that I haven’t seen you in such a long time and now you’re being so mean by saying such things to me—hehe.” 

 Nia bent down, poking Shido’s arm. Shido batted her fingers away while sighing once more. 

 “You say you haven’t seen me in such a long time, but weren’t you just here yesterday? You joined us for dinner, and ate my tomato casserole. Don’t tell me you forgot about all that?” 

 “Ah, is that true? Now that you mention it, I do actually remember something like that happening… Yeah, now I have this feeling of “déjà vu” for the better part of ten months… What was I talking about?” 

 Nia suddenly said something that he didn’t understand. However, Shido decided that he shouldn’t investigate the matter any deeper. So he coughed a little and changed the subject. 

 “Anyway, leaving that aside, you said you wanted to go on a date. Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?” 

 “Ah—yes. I want to go out, but I always feel a little lonely when I go out by myself. Now that I have this rare opportunity, I want to spend time with Boy. If you’re free, come accompany me for a while—” 

 “I don’t mind spending time with you… but where are we going?” 

 Shido asked curiously while Nia was humming with a contented smile on her face. 

 “It’s more fun if you don’t know where we’re going until we’re there. It’s not something that we get to do very often. Women with secrets are the ones that are the most beautiful. This year, I’m aiming for the mysterious sister route, all while saying ‘please take care of me.’ Ah, that said, it has nothing to do with chest pads or anything like that, understand? It’s actually mysterious makeup in a certain sense… Ah, did I just say something really profound just now—? I’m truly worthy of being a creator without bothering to pretend with subtle discourse—” 

 Nia pretended to be self-satisfied and soon found her forehead struck with a “thunk”. 

 “…O-Okay.” 

 As he watched Nia who was acting very differently with a mysterious air about her, Shido stood up from the sofa with a wry smile as he prepared himself to head out. 

 After that conversation, thirty minutes passed. Shido and Nia headed to a building near the station. 

 “Well, here we are.” 

 “This is…” 

 Shido coughed as he looked at the building—or to be precise, he spotted the tenant who’d just entered the building. 

 It was a small place with glass windows and billboards full of information on various topics. The sign hanging above the entrance read: “Tengu Real Estate Office.” 

 That’s right. This was a so-called real estate company that sold houses to customers. 

 “Wait. Are you moving?” 

 Shido tilted his head in confusion. Nia normally lived in a high-rise apartment in the city. He had visited her several times already. Both the location and the layout of the apartment were very convenient as it was, so he thought that there was no problem with it. 

 That said, there was no denying that Nia brought him to a real estate company, it had to mean that she wanted to buy, rent, or sell a house. Did something happen? 

 While Shido was trying to figure it out, Nia deliberately snuggled into his shoulder. 

 “Mm-hmm. Yes, honey. In order to ensure our future together, we need to set up our love nest. If we want to have children, we’re going to need at least a four bedroom apartment. S-Should we have more—?” 

 “Huh… it looks like there’s a promotional event at the supermarket today.” 

 Shido desperately wanted to get away from the real estate company, but Nia was faster and grabbed his sleeve. 

 “Wait a minute—haven’t you been acting cold towards me lately, Boy? I was so energetic before being sealed—Could it be that you’re not interested in fish you’ve already caught? You’re someone who would make a woman cry—!” 

 “You make it hard for me to talk to you! It’s because you’re always making such strange jokes!” 

 After Shido finished speaking, Nia put a finger to her lips and sighed, “Wow, really, you don’t underhand humor at all…” 

 “Well, the truth is that my books and stuff have been cluttering up my workspace. I’ve been thinking about buying a place that has a better plot and more space.” 

 “Oh… so that’s what this is all about.” 

 Shido listened to Nia’s explanation and nodded in understanding. Indeed, Nia’s current apartment was filled with all sorts of manga and toys that gradually ate away at the remaining free space. 

 Even so, under normal circumstances, no one would buy a new house just because of that. Naturally, houses were generally pretty expensive, so it wouldn’t be so easy to just buy one. 

 However, Nia’s situation was a little different. After all, she was a popular serialized manga artist—Honjou Souji. Although he didn’t know how much money she made with her job, it seemed likely that she had plenty to, say, buy a house. 

 “Well, I’m going in—!” 

 After she said that, Nia pushed the door to the real estate company open. The bell mounted on the door made the typical “ding dong” sound, which seemed to echo around the room. 

 “Welcome!” 

 An energetic voice welcomed Shido and Nia as they entered. A woman wearing a clean, professional looking suit approached them with a beautiful business smile and greeted them. 

 Shido reflexively responded with a greeting of his own. 

 “I’m Aoki from Tengu Real Estate. What kind of house are you two looking for today?” 

 “Hmm… I think a house as large as possible and close to Tengu City.” 

 After Nia said thoughtfully as she put a finger to her chin, Aoki nodded with a smile. 

 “So that’s the kind of house you’re looking for. Incidentally, are the two of you living together?” 

 “Eh? Does it really look like that?” 

 Hearing what Aoki said, Nia smiled cutely at her. 

 “Ah! That’s not true. We’ve only just started dating. How could we get married just yet?” 

 Shido responded to Aoki with his own improvisation. 

 “Please help me find someone to live with.” 

 “You—that’s so mean!” 

 Nia protested while Aoki watched them with a wry smile. 

 “A large house close to Tengu City, what’s your budget?” 

 “Well, I don’t know the market very well. Do you know if this number is enough?” 

 When she finished, Nia raised two fingers. Aoki looked at it and tapped her chin thoughtfully. 

 “Two hundred thousand? Then—” 

 “Eh? What are you talking about, Aoki? That’s definitely not what I’m saying. The number of zeroes is wrong.” 

 Nia waved her hands and laughed. 

 “Whoa…” 

 When she realized what Nia meant, Aoki’s eyes seemed to light up. Although she paused and stared at Shido and Nia discerningly for several seconds… It seemed that Nia didn’t give the matter a second thought. 

 “So that is what I’m working with… Okay, I understand.” 

 Shido suddenly had the feeling that Aoki was treating this as more of a transaction now compared to before. She returned to her desk and pulled out a thick folder and flipped it open. 

 “Let’s see…With your budget, what properties are in Tengu City…?” 

 Then, Aoki took one of the pieces of paper from the folder and passed it over to Shido and Nia. In it was information about the room’s layout, appearance, and various other tidbits. 

 “Let’s see…What kind of house is this? ‘Katamukai No. 201’…isn’t this a pretty old property? It says it’s a wooden apartment. It’s pretty rare to see something like this in this kind of neighborhood…” 

 “It was intentionally built with a nostalgic style to give a sense of history.” 

 After reading the information provided, Nia summarized while Aoki smiled all so professionally. 

 “The layout of this place… isn’t this a single room?” 

 “I looked for a place that didn’t have unnecessary partitions in order to provide as much open space as you wanted.” 

 Aoki answered Shido’s questions promptly. It was a little too sudden, Shido thought; was it actually a single very large room?… However, he noticed in the area written next to the room layout that it was only the length of six tatami mats. 

 “Say… Huh? Isn’t the arrangement of the image of this room a little weird? It looks like the floor is a little tilted.” 

 “This is a house designed on the theme of the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. In addition, if you spread glass beads on the floor, you can make it look like a river is flowing underneath. 

 “If it’s like that… then wouldn’t it mean that the house is actually crooked?!” 

 Nia couldn’t help but cry. But Aoki’s expression didn’t change in the least but instead, she tilted her head in confusion. 

 “Does it not suit you?” 

 “Of course not?! Why would you introduce us to such a problematic house?!” 

 “Really… then what about this one?” 

 Aoki suggested as she pulled out another property listing to show them. 

 “Hmm…‘Nishinono Room 404.’ Does this look like an ordinary apartment?” 

 “Ah… At least it’s a little bit bigger than the previous one.” 

 “Hmm… it’s also pretty… huh?” 

 Nia, who was inspecting the interior photos, suddenly noticed something and reared her head back. 

 “Nia? What’s wrong?” 

 “…It’s nothing, but the gap in this closet seems a bit…” 

 Nia showed the area in question to Shido. Shido focused his gaze where Nia had indicated— 

 “—What?!” 

 In the image was a long-haired woman’s face, peering out from the door of the closet. Shido couldn’t help but gasp. 

 “H-Hey… Aoki-san?! This—” 

 “Yes. Because of the tenant previously staying there, this mascot was purposely attached so they wouldn’t feel lonely at night.” 

 “M-Mascot…?!” 

 “Yes. Ah, but between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning, please don’t open the closet. And don’t sing nursery rhymes in this house. Also, I would not suggest investigating the history of this house from 15 years ago.” 

 “This is completely absurd! Can you not introduce us to places where such accidents occurred?! I had a bad feeling when I heard the name!” 

 Nia wailed again. 

 Then, Aoki mumbled, “This is troublesome…” and then pulled out another house listing page from the folder. 

 “Then… Here’s one that’s close to here. ‘Morizou Room 201.’ The location is great—it’s close to the station after all…” 

 “Ah, but this is very strange? What’s with the layout of this room?! Not to mention the bathroom, there isn’t even a kitchen or a toilet?… If anything, if I just lie down by myself, it’ll be cramped!” 

 “As the saying goes, for a man, only half a seat is needed to stand and only one seat is needed to sleep.” 

 “I’m pretty sure that saying is meant spiritually rather than physically! This room is more like a closet rather than an actual living space!” 

 “That’s very insightful. This is actually the bedroom of the super-popular cat-shaped robot. ‘My childhood dream came true!’ The people who previously lived here only had good things to say about it.” 

 “You’re an idiot!” 

 Nia shouted as sweat suddenly started trailing down her forehead. 

 “Hey… You’ve been introducing strange places to me from the beginning. Have you even been listening to what I asked for?” 

 “Of course. But because you didn’t give a specific square meter amount, I think defining ‘spaciousness’ is a subjective term. Additionally, you never mentioned that the closets shouldn’t contain torn corpses from previous murders. Conditions that you should have taken into account before you came here.” 

 “Generally, you don’t need to ask for those kinds of conditions when looking for a home?! Tell me more about what happened 15 years ago, you bastard!” 

 After Nia slammed her hands on the table and groaned, Aoki shook her head helplessly. 

 “Even if you say that sort of thing, if you’re looking for places in Tengu City with your budget, to be honest, those are your best options…” 

 Aoki said with a complicated expression. Nia frowned in surprise as she glanced back at Shido. 

 “…Really? Is the land price in your neighborhood that expensive?” 

 “Honestly, I don’t really know very much…” 

 After Shido answered, Nia thought about it for a while before she sighed and stood up. 

 “I guess it can’t be helped… Dammit… I thought 200 million would definitely be enough…” 

 Just as Nia was about to stand up and leave the office, she heard someone cough behind her. 

 “Huh? Are you okay, Aoki? Are you coming down with something?” 

 “…No. How much did you say just now?” 

 “Eh? Two hundred million…” 

 “…Forgive me for asking, but what is the unit of currency? Gold? Gil? Or is it referring to Beli?” 

 “No, what kind of bounty hunter kind of thing are you talking about? Of course I’m talking about the Japanese Yen! The Japanese Yen! In 20,000 Fukuzawa Yukichi notes!” 

 After being silent for a while, Aoki looked up quickly and stared at Nia intently. 

 “…Wouldn’t it be better if you just turned yourself in right now?” 

 “No, I didn’t steal it from anywhere! Why are you looking at me like that?!” 

 “No, how should I say this… I don’t think you are being tempted by some innocent young boyfriend who’s not good at dealing with women.” 

 “Now you’re just being blunt! That is obviously a complaint, but I happen to like the phrase ‘naive young boyfriend’, so I won’t give it another thought!” 

 After Nia finished talking, Aoki coughed in embarrassment to recompose herself. 

 “My apologies, it seems I must have misunderstood you. If your budget is what you say it is, then there are a lot of options to choose from. It would be more accurate to say that you could buy a freestanding house without worrying about rent.” 

 “No, well, that was my plan originally… but never mind. It’s troublesome to have to visit other real estate agencies now. Anyway, if you have any good listings, can I see them?” 

 “I understand. Then please take a look at this one—” 

 Aoki seemed much more professional as she pulled out a different folder, and pulled out several listings and spread them out on the table… 

◇◇◇

 “—Hmmmm—” 

 There was a gentle humming sound (somehow the OP from the previous cat-robot’s anime) and the sound of a kitchen knife rhythmically striking a chopping board came from the kitchen. 

 Shido made his way toward the kitchen as though captivated by the sound. At that moment, he spotted Nia who was dressed in nothing but an embroidered fringe apron, cooking happily. 

 “Nia?” 

 “—Oh, you’re finally awake? Nyaa, just wait a bit, okay?…Well, ah… I told you to wait just a bit. Eh, you can’t wait? Eh, hey, you really are a Boy, you’re still young… but that sort of thing is for after the meal…Oh ♥ have a look, please eat it before it gets cold ♥.” 

“…Just for my sanity’s sake, what are you doing?” 

 At that moment, Shido heard a voice from behind him, taking him by surprise. Shido turned around. Aoki, who hadn’t a clue what was going on, stood there blankly. 

 But that was understandable. If a visitor came to the house while the two of them were flirting while wearing nothing more than an apron, of course they would make such an expression. 

 Anyway, Shido and Nia were introduced to several houses after that, but thought that they should go see them for themselves, so they decided to go see the houses together. 

 Then when they went to go look at the house, Shido went to look for Nia because she seemed to have disappeared even though she was right next to him. 

 Now that he was left alone, Shido couldn’t help but feel like an accomplice as he shook his head to deny what he was seeing. 

 “No, I didn’t do anything?!” 

 “Yeah—Boy doesn’t want to play with me. I’ve had a chance to see this new wife form—of Honjou Nia, but what do you think?” 

 “First of all, why are you dressed like that? And why are all the dishes that you made just cup noodles?!” 

 “Ahaha, in order to create the atmosphere, I hit the cutting board with a kitchen knife for three minutes after I poured out the hot water. How about it, Boy? Are you moved? Can you imagine waking up in the morning with a newlywed wife dressed in nothing but an apron preparing breakfast? It’s the dream for all men! What do you think, would you do it next time? I’d pay you, of course.” 

 “No way!” 

 “Eh—does that mean you don’t want me to pay with money but instead to pay with my body—?” 

 Nia spoke as she lifted the hem of her apron. 

 “Wait…!” 

 Shido couldn’t help but blush as he looked away. 

 “Ahaha… Don’t worry! Don’t worry! I was only pretending to wear a nude apron but I was actually wearing a bikini…Oh? Boy, you blushed?! Are you in love? Could it be that seeing the adult charm of Honjou Nia made you blush?” 

 “S-Shut up and put your clothes back on!” 

 After Shido shouted, Nia smiled and said, “Ah, hmm… Hehe… It looks like Honjou Nia still has her charm!” as she pulled her clothes back on. 

◇◇◇

 “Okay, so, back to the house, what do you think of it?” 

 Once Nia was fully dressed, Aoki sighed, as Nia scratched her head and looked around the house again. 

 There was no denying that this was a very luxurious house. It had wide hallways and high ceilings. It also looked to be move-in ready, so Nia could move in whenever she wanted. It was definitely better than any of the homes Aoki presented at the beginning. 

 “I think it’s a very nice house. The bathroom is also quite nice and, by the way, it has a roof!” 

 “Thank you very much. So—” 

 Aoki had just pulled out something that looked like a contract from her bag. However, Nia frowned in disbelief. 

 “But… aren’t there a lot of ramps along the way? It’ll be difficult for weak little Honjou Nia. And you see, it’s difficult to separate the work space from everything else.” 

 “Eh, you’re going to be that picky over this?” 

 “No, think about it, is this a plan for a new wife? As a manga artist, Souji, I have many other requirements. I don’t normally go out and buy houses, but I’m still going to need a wide workspace, and a space for watching anime and the like. I also want to have a screening room and a nuclear bunker prepared just in case… Ah, and I want more rooms for Boy and the others so that they can spend the night any time…” 

 Nia waved a finger as she listed her requirements. Shido let out a sigh. 

 “Why did you put me on the list so casually?” 

 “Oh, that’s no good. If I can’t eat the food that Boy prepares, my strength—fading—” 

 Nia slumped forward with a coquettish voice. Shido sighed as he said, “Okay, okay…” and gently pushed her away. 

 Then they noticed Aoki’s expression as she watched the scene unfold, “Even if it’s not a part time job, is it really okay to seduce this idle woman’s young boyfriend…?” as she coughed to recompose herself. 

 “Hmm… that’s a big problem. This is a complex set of requests for a house. If you don’t like this house, then you’re probably not going to like the other houses that I picked out for you…” 

 “Hmm… that…” 

 “What conditions can you compromise on, or are there other places outside that area that you could take into consideration? The other option is that you can design the house you want and then have it built from scratch.” 

 “—Built?” 

 Aoki’s suggestion made Nia curious. 

 “Yes. Although it would take more time, it would be the most appropriate way to get the house that fits your preferences. If you are interested, I can introduce you to some design and engineering companies that can help you get started.” 

 “Huh… now there’s an idea…” 

 There was a sparkle in Nia’s eyes. Although her appearance was a little different, Nia was still a “Creator”. It would be within her temperament to have her home built from scratch according to her own preferences. 

 “Yes! Indeed, a manga artist would never be satisfied with just an ordinary home with no personality! Red and white intertwined, a shark head in the toilet! It’s decided! Can you introduce me to the design and engineering companies? Oh, this’ll be exciting! Boy! Let’s think about what would be the ideal home!” 

◇◇◇

 “So! That’s why I want to build a house from scratch!” 

 That evening, Nia stood in the living room of the Itsuka household as she announced the decision loudly. 

 In the living room, aside from Itsuka Shido and his little sister, Kotori, there were several other girls present: 

 Origami, Yoshino, Mukuro, Natsumi, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, and Tohka—that’s right. 

 These were all Spirits who were being protected by <Ratatoskr> along with Nia who were gathered here. After hearing what Nia said, the rest of the Spirits expressed surprise, their eyes brightened in excitement. 

 “Huh… that’s a surprise. But it seems like an interesting idea. What kind of house are you going to build?” 

 Kotori asked as she leaned back against the dining room chair and continued sucking on the chupa chups in her mouth. 

 Then Nia hummed as she pursed her lips and spread out a large piece of paper on the table. Then, she pulled a pen out of her pocket and began spinning it around in her fingers (incidentally, she’d already dropped the pen once) and struck a pose. 

 “That’s what I’m thinking about right now. It’s not every day you get a chance to design your dream home so I want to draw on everyone’s wisdom. How about it, everyone? Is there any equipment, rooms, or anything else that you want? After we get it built, you can use it freely.” 

 Nia said. The Spirits blinked as they understood what Nia meant. They then jumped up in excitement. 

 “Really, Nia? Anything?!” 

 “Well, of course! What is it that you want, Tohka-chan?” 

 After Nia nodded exaggeratedly, Tohka continued with an excited tone. 

 “Then there’s one thing. I want a huge refrigerator! That way it could hold more delicious food!” 

 “Ah, a good industrial refrigerator. My refrigerator still has plenty of wine. If we want to keep it all fresh, we’d also need a bigger kitchen.” 

 When she finished, Nia began to sketch out the layout of the kitchen on paper. She drew at an appropriate rhythm expected of a professional manga artist. Indeed, her sketch was quite beautiful. 

 “Hmph… Hmm…” 

 Soon after she finished drawing out the kitchen’s layout, Nia pulled out a can of beer from the plastic bag next to her, opened it with one smooth motion, and… started drinking. 

 “Ahh… that hit the spot!” 

 “Hey, you haven't had dinner yet, have you?” 

 “Don’t worry! Because the meals that Boy makes are delicious, I can eat them no matter what!… Oh yeah, in order to get Boy to cook in my house, it has to be the most incredible kitchen. The stove should have a high fire power for daily use, and maybe a low temperature cooker? Gahaha! Let Boy slowly become mine…” 

 “…?!” 

 “…Shido, what are you doing?” 

 “N-Nothing…” 

 When Kotori noticed him, Shido could only smile bitterly… At the same time, he decided to wait until the new home was finished before quietly asking Nia to let him cook there. 

 “Okay, we should also expand the dining table so that everyone can eat together… Is there anything else that we need?” 

 Nia took another sip of her beer as she asked. This time, it was Yoshino who raised her hand which had her rabbit puppet—Yoshinon. 

 “That… the kind of bed with a canopy that I saw on TV before, I think it would be really nice…” 

 “And another thing, a huge walk-in closet! There was this girl who would be ready to go to the ball at the castle at any time!” 

 “Oh, that’s a good idea! There always seems to be an inexplicable interest in canopy beds. Also, if you buy a lot of cosplay outfits, it would be overwhelming. Since that’s the case, there should be a space where they can be displayed on mannequins maybe…?” 

 Nia started to draw in the layout. Just then the dam burst as the other Spirits started to raise their hands in quick succession. 

 “Kuku… A fortification. Interesting… If so, then there should be a magic lance that crashes the sacred jade, plus a winged arrow.” 

 “Translation. Kaguya says that she wants a place where she can play billiards and darts. Because it’s so rare, there should also be a bar nearby.” 

 “Mun… Muku wants a place where you can watch the stars. Can you set up an observation deck on the roof?” 

 “I can do whatever I want, huh… What I want, a little black room in the back, that’s what I want.” 

 “I want a room that’s soundproofed, where I can sing as much as I want! It’s fun to think about what you can practice, and we’d get to sing karaoke with everyone anytime!” 

 “—A monitoring room. In order to show images from each of my hidden cameras at the same time, I also want somewhere to place multiple monitors.” 

 “Origami? Can you tell me where you have those cameras?” 

 As the Spirits’ respective ideas came from all directions, Nia didn’t bother filtering through what was necessary or not but instead added the additions indiscriminately while saying things like “Good!” or “Received!” 

 Kotori was the first to notice this as she frowned and spoke up. 

 “Wait, Nia, wouldn’t this be going a little overboard? If we pulled all the ideas together, what would end up happening? There’s still, of course, the issue of how the house would look on the outside, but is your budget enough to manage this?” 

 Nia laughed loudly as she opened a second can of beer. 

 “It’s no problem! Not a problem at all! I’m rich after all! Are you underestimating the success of this popular manga artist?! Although I don’t know how much it will cost, money is not a concern for me! We can make it happen with a single click! Do whatever you want! What I want more than anything else is that I’m not confined to the basic concept of a home!” 

 By this point, Nia was already a little drunk as she forcefully raised her fist. However, the Spirits seemed to echo her enthusiasm in return. 

 Kotori noticed everyone’s enthusiasm and could only shrug helplessly. 

 “Really, being able to say something so needlessly prolific. Are you sure it’ll be okay?” 

 “Well…that’s the same thing. Well, it’ll be passed onto the professional designers. I don’t think there will be any serious problems… But we should probably ask first, just to be safe.” 

 Shido smiled wryly while Kotori tilted her head incredulously. 

◇◇◇

 “—A total of 1.85 trillion yen.” 

 “…What?” 

 A few days later, Nia went back to back to visit the real estate agent. She was stunned when she heard the price Aoki reported. Shido, who had tagged along with her, showed a similar expression. 

 “…No way, is it really that expensive?” 

 “I’ve already explained it. There’s the cost of the land to build your home along with the budget for the construction cost. These are estimates based on the design drawings you set a few days ago. Apparently, ordinary design firms and construction companies aren’t able to work with these designs, so we had to resort to a large industrial construction company.” 

 “…What?” 

 After a longer silence than before, Nia continued incredulously. 

 “That… What unit are you using? Gold? Perica? Or maybe Gavas?” 

 “Of course, I’m talking about the Japanese yen. The equivalent of 185 million Yukichi Fukuzawas.” 

 “No no no…” 

 Nia shook her head rapidly as she leaned against the table. 

 “Besides, it’s too weird anyway! What kind of home would that be?! Actually, is it even a home at that point?!” 

 But nonetheless, Aoki was unperturbed by Nia’s energy. She pulled out another piece and her gaze moved to it as she considered. 

 “Sorry, but if you’re planning to build an amusement park, then it would cost this much.” 

 “Hey… huh?” 

 Hearing what Aoki said, Nia made a strange noise. 

 “—Additionally, the three Michelin Star restaurant equipment and ten banquet halls, a ballroom in the style of a medieval castle, an underground empire, a safe house-type refuge, a lollipop memorial museum, a dome that can hold 50,000 people, CIA-level intelligence equipment, a telescope powerful enough to view Magellanic Clouds… and this, ‘a ten story minaret on the ground’ with each floor being guarded by powerful enemies that would be waiting for them and preventing anyone from going up unless they beat the enemies. Incidentally, the third floor would be designed to paralyze the foes if you were alone. What kind of design is this specific? Many people in the industry have raised such questions to us, among other things.” 

 Although Nia was still reeling back in shock, she snatched the paper from Aoki to see for herself. 

 Indeed, this design was drawn by Nia. A few days ago, Nia sent the scanned drawings that they’d prepared at the Itsuka household to Aoki. 

 The designs that she submitted were indeed in Nia’s handwriting and all of the facilities that Aoki listed were all present in the design. The nicest way to describe it would be that it was like it was a secret base designed by an elementary school student’s delusions of a “home”. 

 “Did I… really design this kind of thing…?” 

 Nia felt sweat trickle down her cheeks as she glanced at Shido who was next to her. Shido looked away as he nodded. 

 “I warned you not to go overboard on this.” 

 “R-Really…?” 

 Nia thought long and hard and began to recall what had happened when she drew up the designs. Although her memory was fuzzy because of the alcohol, she did remember saying several extraordinary things thanks to the alcohol’s effects. The other Spirits had suggested small additions to start, Nia had encouraged them to think bigger: “Don’t go with something shabby like a soundproofed room! Go all in and build a dome! Don’t worry! It won’t be a problem because I’ve got so much money!”…Well she remembered saying all of those things and now that she remembered, Nia looked up as she broke out into a cold sweat. 

 “Then, moving on to the start date, you would first need to by about 90 hectares of land in that area. Of course, because you’re planning to have a home that spans the entire residential area, you’d have to negotiate with the local residents and compensate for the land and relocation fees—” 

 “STOOOOOP! Why are we still discussing this topic so casually! This is obviously not possible with my budget! Can you think about this with some common sense! And are big construction companies this stupid? Surely you all should realize that this sort of project would be impossible, right?! Obviously I realized that I presented an unrealistic design from the beginning! I can’t afford such an expensive place anyway! I want to cancel it!” 

 “Fine. But you know that you will be charged cancellation and estimation fees totaling 152,800 yen.” 

 “Were you doing this on purpose from the beginning?” 

 Nia’s voice was laced with anger. She looked more than ready to strangle Aoki but Shido was faster to react and managed to stop her before she could follow through. 

 —An hour later, following some patient negotiations, Shido and Nia were finally able to reduce the cancellation and estimation fees back to the standard amounts. They then made their way back home. 

 “Hah… this was so troublesome. I’m so sorry, Boy. I got you dragged into this mess.” 

 “Haha… I’m glad that we were able to solve this problem smoothly. But what are you going to do with the designs?” 

 “Hmm… well, that ideal home is still good in some regards. I guess I’ll have to find a better place to build some other time. Anyway, I’m never going back to that real estate company again!” 

 Nia shouted as she glared in the direction of the office; Shido could only smile bitterly. 

 They made their way back to the Itsuka household. 

 The two of them took their shoes off as they made their way to the living room. The other Spirits who had already gathered there greeted them when they arrived. 

 “Oh! You two have returned, Shido, Nia!” 

 “Welcome home…” 

 “Welcome back, Darling, Nia-san! Do you want me? Or me? Or me?” 

 All of the Spirits greeted them in unison. Although Kotori was absent because of work, all of the other Spirits were here. 

 “Yeah, we’re back. I can’t stand that real estate company…” 

 Nia sat down on the sofa as she sighed helplessly while the Spirits who heard her spoke brightly. 

 “Oh! The real estate company’s words… the house you designed! When will it be completed?” 

 “Yeah! Now everyone should dance together in dresses!” 

 “If you use something called a telescope… you can see the stars clearly at night, right? Mun… Muku is very excited now.” 

 Nia, now exposed to the excited eyes of the Spirits, felt the muscles in her face twitch anxiously. 

 No, it wasn’t all of the Spirits: Origami, Miku, Natsumi, and the Yamai Sisters all understood that such a design was impossible to create. Seeing Nia’s appearance, they only could smile at her wryly. 

 However, Tohka, Yoshino, and Mukuro still believed the stupid words that a drunkard Nia shouted and looked forward to the completion of the new home. Blinded by their combined dazzling expressions, Nia had to close her eyes. 

 “But you’re really amazing, Nia! I was surprised that you would be able to build such a big home!” 

 “Yes. That’s really amazing…” 

 “Mun. As expected of a manga artist. Muku is looking forward to it.” 

 “A-Ah… that’s right…” 

 This must be what vampires bathed in sunlight felt like. Nia, faced with the bright expressions of the Spirits, could only smile weakly. 

◇◇◇

 Meanwhile, aboard the huge airship <Fraxinus> that floated 15,000 kilometers above Tengu City. 

 Kotori sat at the commander’s seat at the center of the bridge and was busy operating her personal console. 

 The parameters of all of the Spirits were displayed in detail on the screen. Of course, although Kotori’s terminal would be contacted if Spirit values became abnormal, she had to regularly check everyone’s status like this as the commander of the <Fraxinus>. 

 “—They all look energetic, Kotori. But there’s no need to be shy.” 

 A girlish voice as smooth as jewels echoed from the speakers installed on the bridge. 

 —It was the <Fraxinus>’s on board AI—Maria. 

 “Ah, Maria. It’s okay, I’m almost done. Shido and Nia are still on their way back. I’ll be home before dinner.” 

 “That’s good to hear. But speaking of which—” 

 “Is there something wrong? Did something grab your attention?” 

 When Kotori asked the question, Maria sighed (of course, an AI didn’t need to breathe, but she was very particular) and then continued. 

 “Well, it’s about Nia. She said that she wanted to build a new home.” 

 “Ah… that…” 

 With the mention of the new house, Kotori couldn’t help but laugh. 

 After all, the new home designs that Nia drew while drunk were completely absurd. 

 “If you really want to build that kind of thing, I don’t know how much it would cost. Nia didn’t seem to remember what she drew when she was drunk… It seems like you know a lot about this, Maria.” 

 “Yes, Shido discussed it with me the other day.” 

 “With Shido?” 

 When Nia drew up her mess of design drawings, she remembered that Shido said that he planned to discuss with someone before going to the real estate company. It seemed that he was referring to Maria. 

 “So what did you two discuss? It wouldn’t happen to be something like ‘Help me realize Nia’s design’?” 

 “Sorry, but you’re only half right.” 

 Hearing Maria’s answer, Kotori’s eyes widened. 

 “Are you kidding? Even <Ratatoskr> wouldn’t spend that much money on it! And even for Nia, you know how ridiculous her designs were! It’s the sort of thing that only a drunk ghost could draw.” 

 “It’s really naive.” 

 Hearing what Maria said, Kotori tilted her head in confusion. So Maria sighed once more and explained. 

 “You’re right. It’s just like you said… Nia is more superficial, brainless, and face-saving than Kotori could have imagined—but she is also a Spirit who didn’t want to crush those children’s dreams. Any moment now, it’ll be coming.” 

 “Any moment… what’s coming?” 

 Kotori frowned suspiciously as she felt the phone in her pocket begin to vibrate. 

 “It’s me, hello?” 

 “Save me, Imouto-chan! A dream—!” 

 When Kotori answered the phone, Nia’s voice laced with panic and shame screamed, causing Kotori to briefly go deaf in one ear. 

 Hearing this, Maria said, “—Now.” 

◇◇◇

 “—Whoa!” 

 Tohka’s eyes went wide as she took in the scene before her. 

 This reaction was understandable, because Tohka now found herself in what seemed to be an amusement park. 

 In this giant venue where it was impossible to determine its boundaries, there were a variety of entertainment facilities: roller coasters, ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, haunted houses—all of which were based on manga characters drawn by Nia—creating this joyous space. 

 No, it wasn’t just that. In this venue, there was also a high-class restaurant, a Western-style castle, a giant dome, a huge telescope, a museum, and many other things. At the center stood a 10-story tall tower. It was said that each floor was guarded by powerful enemies and visitors wouldn’t be able to go up without defeating all the enemies on the floor. Furthermore, there was also a rumor that on the third floor, going alone could make you weak and numb… but Tohka didn’t really understand what that meant. 

 Plus it seemed that it was only Tohka and the other Spirits that were brought to this vast place. 

 Of course, that made perfect sense: because this wasn’t just an ordinary amusement that ordinary tourists could visit—this was Nia’s private residence. 

 “Whoa! Is all of this inside Nia’s house?!” 

 “Huh? Ahaha… Well, you could say that…” 

 After Tohka asked excitedly, Nia, who was standing behind them, answered a little vaguely. When Tohka looked at her, there was a feeling that she could only smile out of guilt. 

 Before Tohka could look into it further, the other Spirits’ excited voices sounded around them. 

 “Wow…this is great. Can I look at that castle…?” 

 “Let’s go! Let’s become the queens of the castle!” 

 “Mun. It looks like the stars will only be visible at night. Before the night falls, Muku will go with Yoshino.” 

 “Yay! There’s really a dome here! In that case, I’ll play The Temptation of Izayoi Miku on stage for everyone here!” 

 “Hellfire… where are the facilities that I seek now?” 

 “Found. According to the guidebook, it looks like they are underground. Let’s go check it out.” 

 “It looks like the intelligence equipment is also underground. Let’s go together.” 

 “…Anyway, where is the little black house I asked for?” 

 “Provide. That seemed to be located on the third floor of the tower.” 

 “Eh, why did you put it on the broken ground…?” 

 And so on and so forth, the Spirits’ eyes shone with excitement as they looked at Nia together. 

 “Nia!” 

 “Can we go play…?” 

 Nia, who was bathed in everyone’s gazes, although briefly stunned as she supported herself up, quickly nodded as she chippered up. 

 “Well, of course! Everyone, today, I want you to enjoy Nia Paradise, which was changed from Nia House! Feel free to enjoy it!” 

 “Yeah—!” 

 Armed with the orders from the head of the household, the Spirits all responded happily and each made their way to where they wanted to go. 

◇◇◇

 “Everything seems to be going smoothly…” 

 From a room aboard the airship <Fraxinus>, Kotori sighed. 

 In that room, there were several devices that resembled coffins where the Spirits, now wearing headgear with terminals, were lying inside. 

 They set up the monitor in the room that reflected a perfect reproduction of the ideal home that Nia and the other Spirits who were having fun in it at that very moment. 

 That’s right. Now the Spirits were playing in an imaginary space created by the digital world. 

 Even if it’s the <Fraxinus>, it would be difficult to build the home shown in Nia’s design in reality. But with help from the Realizer, doing something like transferring human consciousness into a digital world would be an easy feat. 

 “You’re really predictable. Nia would have had to cry and beg me and Maria.” 

 When Kotori said this, Shido, who was watching the monitor screen a little wryly. 

 “Well… because Tohka and the others were looking forward to it. I think it’s because it’s Nia. If she doesn’t meet their expectations, Nia wouldn’t be able to live with herself… Sorry, Maria, for asking you to do this.” 

 Shido spoke gratefully. In response, a smug voice came from the speaker in the room. 

 “The beautiful AI that can turn something previously impossible into reality is me. That’s what the so-called good wife and mother has to worry about. There’s no need to be shy when praising me.” 

 “Haha… you really are amazing, Maria. Thanks to you, everyone is having fun.” 

 Shido offered an honest compliment. At that moment, one of the coffin-looking devices beeped. 

 That was the signal when the user returned to reality from the digital world. The previously unconscious Nia suddenly sat up and removed the device from her head. 

 “Baah! Thanks for all the help, Mariamon. I’ll never forget this kindness!” 

 As she spoke a line from a period drama, Nia rubbed her eyes while smiling with a hint of humiliation. 

 Seeing her like that, Kotori, Shido, and Maria all sighed. 

 “Really, pay more attention, Nia. Fortunately, we have Maria with us, otherwise Tohka and the others would have been disappointed.” 

 “Right… Should I drink less beer in the future?” 

 When Kotori and Shido spoke, Nia nodded without a shred of remorse. 

 “…Imouto-chan really helped me a lot. I heard that Boy helped arrange everything for me in advance? Thank you so much.” 

 She spoke with a soft look on her face. Having seen this uncommon and praiseworthy side of her, Shido was taken by surprise. 

 “No, I just discussed it with her. The real hero here is Maria.” 

 “I get it. 3D Machine Caviar.” 

 When she finished speaking, Nia blew a kiss. Maria responded with a dissatisfied sigh coming from the speaker. 

 “I’m not thankful for any of that. I have my own ideas. Including the construction cost for the imaginary space used for this incident and the mental effort by me, I will be charging 66 trillion and 200 billion yen to Nia’s account.” 

 “It was just a joke! I’m only kidding! I noticed the monitor screen was a bit dirty, so I’ll clean it. I’ll keep Mariamon’s cute body squeaky clean!” 

 Nia smirked as she began to clean the monitor screen. Seeing such a haphazard response from Nia, Kotori and Shido couldn’t help but laugh. 

 However, as they finished speaking with each other, several beeps could be heard from the devices around them. 

 “Huh…?” 

 It seemed that the other Spirits had decided to follow Nia back to reality. Everyone quickly sat up in turn, and removed the headgear from their heads. 

 “Wow… this is amazing! It seems that no matter how far you go, you can never find the limits! Shido and Kotori should come and play there too!” 

 “There are so many dresses in the castle…! If it’s possible, I would like to ask Shido-san to help me choose one.” 

 “The underground empire is even more incredible than I could have imagined! Don’t you want to take a look?” 

 “…Not to mention the layer where the ground is broken, not even the enemies can beat me… who could stop me…?” 

 Everyone spoke in excitement. It seemed that everyone in Nia’s Paradise, previously named Nia’s House, were all quite happy. Seeing their joy, Shido and Kotori couldn’t help but relax. 

 “—For things to turn out like this, I have to give you credit, Shido.” 

 “Ah, about that. Honestly, I’m also interested in it.” 

 “Then, the two of you are invited as well!” 

 As soon as Kotori and Shido finished speaking, the Spirits beckoned them over cheerfully. The two nodded in agreement as they made their way to the vacant devices. 

 “But, as expected, Nia really is amazing!” 

 Then Tohka held her arm as she nodded. 

 “Eh? Ahahaha…No, ah, really? I am pretty good, aren’t I?” 

 Nia paid Maria little thought as she responded exaggeratedly. So Tohka nodded excitedly again. 

 “Umu! Because it will take a long time before the real Nia Paradise is completed, so you used the computer world to make us happy, right?” 

 “—Huh?” 

 After hearing what Tohka said, Nia stared, stunned. However, the other Spirits continued without missing a beat. 

 “Yes… Nia-san is very powerful. It is awe-inspiring.” 

 “No, that…” 

 “Mun… Since the things in the computer world were already so exciting, what a real paradise will be like… it would be truly unimaginable.” 

 “That is… to say…?” 

 Even as Nia, who’d broken out into a cold sweat, spoke, Tohka, Yoshino, and Mukuro still spoke without a care to the world around them as they stared at Nia with eyes as bright as the sun and excited looks on their faces. 

 “I’ll be looking forward to it, Nia.” 

 “Me too.” 

 “Mun… Muku is looking forward to the good news.” 

 Faced with the innocent looks of the three Spirits— 

 “Ah… okay… Honjou Nia will work hard…” 

 Nia’s throat went dry as her expression turned more sullen.